Behold Your Mother

“Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. John 19:26-27

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. The first image that comes to mind is Michelangelo Buonarroti’s Pieta in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. I first saw this beautiful Renaissance masterpiece in 1978, and I thought it perfectly depicted how a mother would have been devastated, seeing her son tortured, humiliated, and bloodied. How she would have wanted to cradle his mangled body and mourn bitter tears after he was taken down off the cross. Perhaps she wanted time to stop. As any mother knows, ever since her child is born, it’s like her heart is placed in his body. She bleeds when he bleeds, she cries when he cries. 

As much as Mary loved her Son, we can say He loved her too. The last words He said to her, “Woman, behold your son,” showed her that even in His suffering, He thought of her. He entrusted her to John’s care as a loving son would. We can also glimpse beyond the pain and sorrow, to Jesus’ intention that we all be commended to His mother as her spiritual children. 

We can look to Mary as a perfect example of grace under pressure, of love and faith that bears all things. Always, always, Mary will point us to Jesus. As our mother, she will always say, just as she told the servants at Cana, “Do whatever He tells you.”